In aerospace applications it is often necessary to provide redundancy in the design of actuation systems. Such designs employ a fail-safe approach to addressing possibilities that, if not addressed, could result in loss of flight control capability. Thus, a thrust vectoring system may be driven by four motors when only two are needed, or a control surface of an aircraft may be adjusted by a combination of motors, where the combination will not be rendered inoperable when one of the motors fails.
Despite the provision of redundancy in design, problems may still arise depending on the failure mode of a failed motor. If the motor fails in an open mode, the remainder of the actuation system is typically sufficient to provide continued control capability. However, if the motor fails in a locked mode, its continued connection to the remainder of the actuation system may render the entire system inoperable.
An object of the present invention is to provide an actuation system with a passive means for disconnecting a failed motor from the remainder of the system in a manner which preserves system operability. Further objects and advantages of the invention may become apparent from the following description, which includes the appended claims and accompanying drawings.